Dong Zhuo's Trap

Dong Zhuo's Trap was an event which occurred in 190 AD during the late Han dynasty of China. The warlord Dong Zhuo sent for the rising warlord Cao Cao to come to Luoyang Castle to demand his services, but Cao Cao intended to assassinate Dong Zhuo on Wang Yun's orders. However, Dong Zhuo saw through his plot and sent men to execute him, but Cao Cao succeeded in escaping the capital with the help of his cousins Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan and Dong Zhuo's officer Chen Gong.

Background
After the Yellow Turban Rebellion of 184 AD, Cao Cao was hailed as a hero and promoted to the rank of Colonel. At the same time, the warlord Yuan Shao rose to power and decided to slay the Ten Eunuchs, the influential court officials who were responsible for the corruption which led to the unrest within the Han empire. Yuan Shao and Cao Cao gathered various warlords and eliminated the eunuchs in 189 AD. However, the Eunuchs were not the only ones harboring the smouldering sparks of rebellion, as the brutal and feared warlord Dong Zhuo leapt into action to fill the power vacuum left by the Eunuchs' deaths. Dong Zhuo seized power in Luoyang and held Emperor Shao of Han hostage, making him the most powerful warlord in the land. He then proceeded to have Shao murdered and replaced by his younger brother, who became Emperor Xian of Han, and he became known as a ruthless tyrant.

In 190 AD, the Han official and Interior Minister Wang Yun summoned several warlords, including Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, to his home for his "birthday" celebration, but he then revealed to them that it was not his birthday, but that they were having an important meeting about the future of the Han. There, Wang Yun persuaded the warlords to join him in rising up against Dong Zhuo, and Cao Cao decided to assassinate Dong Zhuo at Luoyang Castle as the precursor to a coup.

Coup
Cao Cao spoke with Dong Zhuo on his throne, and Dong Zhuo asked him to help forge a paradise of riches and women. Cao Cao told him that he was not willing to serve another warlord, so Dong Zhuo ordered his guards to arrest and execute Cao Cao for treason. Dong Zhuo then fled as his soldiers rushed into the throne room to kill Cao Cao, who slew them in large numbers and began to flee out of the castle. He was assisted by Dong Zhuo's strategist Chen Gong, who decided that he was too important to be killed. Chen Gong assisted Cao Cao in navigating through the castle, released a tiger in the palace to distract the guards, and guided Cao Cao to a ballista, which he used to destroy a barricade preventing him from escaping. Chen Gong then took his leave of Cao Cao and withdrew, and Cao Cao escaped to his cousins Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan, who had prepared horses to help him escape.

Aftermath
Cao Cao eluded Dong Zhuo's pursuit and fled to his home base of Chenliu; meanwhile, Yuan Shao was forced to retreat to Ji Province in the north, and the other warlords escaped the capital for their own homes. However, Cao Cao had already prepared his next move, raising troops and sending a call to arms to the various warlords across the land. Yuan Shao was chosen as the leader of this new Alliance against Dong Zhuo, and the warlords' armies marched together to take on Dong Zhuo at the Battle of Si Shui Gate.